May 6th--It was Monday and we started our week of family adventures by going about 120 miles north to see Mark Twain's hometown of Hannibal, Missouri. The Mississippi River has been flooding this Spring and so the much anticipated riverboat ride in Hannibal was canceled due to high water. Aunt Gale had prepared a picnic lunch and so we headed for somewhere to enjoy it. We found the perfect place by the "Mark Twain Caves", just outside of town.
There was a gift shop to browse through and several picture opportunities to be had after lunch. A stone quarry mill was set up for kids to see all the different kinds of rocks that can be found in the hillside and riverbeds.
Water ran down through the troughs, depositing the rocks and sediment along the way. Jessica had quite a bit of fun looking for the sparkly deposits.
The gift shop sold slices of unique finds. And yes. We were suckers. Good money was spent on sliced rocks and a couple of bags of small, colorful rocks...most of which, are still in the pockets of the suitcases!
A huge oak tree shaded the store from the sunlight. You wouldn't normally pay too much attention to the details of a tree, but this happened to be no ordinary tree.
If trees could talk, I'm sure that this tree would have it's own tales of Samuel Clemens' childhood escapades.
It was ancient by today's standards--a whopping 280 years old!
Before leaving, we snapped a few pictures of Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher.
Mom and Dad
Grandma and Grandpa
Jessica and Braden
Jessica and Cameron
Ashley and Nathan
Arijana and Kaylub
We only had one sourpuss...can you figure out which one?
Then it was on to see the houses and town made famous by one of America's most beloved storytellers--Mark Twain. After a tour of the museum and seeing the background history to Clemens'/Twain's past...it was on to the streets to see the details of everyday life.
We started with Huckleberry Finn's house. Huck Finn was a fantastic character combination of about 3 different friends of Samuel Clemens.
Then it was on to the Tom Sawyer house...which was really the Clemens' family home.
One of the most memorable scenes in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is where Tom gets in trouble and is given the chore of painting a fence on Saturday instead of going and playing with his friends. Everyone that stops by to mock him in his punishment becomes an obliging helper as he convinces all of his friends to pay him for the privilege of whitewashing a fence for him instead!
I bought the works of Mark Twain on CD in the gift shop so that we could listen to them on the way home. It was a hoot to listen to the kids giggling as the narrator read Adventures of Tom Sawyer to them in a full southern twang. As a parent, the story comes to life in a much different way then when I read it as a kid! That Tom was definitely a character to behold!!
But what makes him more endearing is the fact that these "fictional" stories by Mark Twain were really glimpses into the real life and details of Samuel Clemens!
The details of the stories are definitely part of Mark Twain's real life and history. Like the courthouse where his father worked.
And it makes sense too--because what kind of mind could come up with all of these incredible tales of childish shenanigans, without having played some role in them!
There was a gift shop to browse through and several picture opportunities to be had after lunch. A stone quarry mill was set up for kids to see all the different kinds of rocks that can be found in the hillside and riverbeds.
Water ran down through the troughs, depositing the rocks and sediment along the way. Jessica had quite a bit of fun looking for the sparkly deposits.
The gift shop sold slices of unique finds. And yes. We were suckers. Good money was spent on sliced rocks and a couple of bags of small, colorful rocks...most of which, are still in the pockets of the suitcases!
A huge oak tree shaded the store from the sunlight. You wouldn't normally pay too much attention to the details of a tree, but this happened to be no ordinary tree.
If trees could talk, I'm sure that this tree would have it's own tales of Samuel Clemens' childhood escapades.
It was ancient by today's standards--a whopping 280 years old!
Before leaving, we snapped a few pictures of Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher.
Mom and Dad
Grandma and Grandpa
Jessica and Braden
Jessica and Cameron
Ashley and Nathan
Arijana and Kaylub
We only had one sourpuss...can you figure out which one?
Then it was on to see the houses and town made famous by one of America's most beloved storytellers--Mark Twain. After a tour of the museum and seeing the background history to Clemens'/Twain's past...it was on to the streets to see the details of everyday life.
Then it was on to the Tom Sawyer house...which was really the Clemens' family home.
One of the most memorable scenes in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is where Tom gets in trouble and is given the chore of painting a fence on Saturday instead of going and playing with his friends. Everyone that stops by to mock him in his punishment becomes an obliging helper as he convinces all of his friends to pay him for the privilege of whitewashing a fence for him instead!
I bought the works of Mark Twain on CD in the gift shop so that we could listen to them on the way home. It was a hoot to listen to the kids giggling as the narrator read Adventures of Tom Sawyer to them in a full southern twang. As a parent, the story comes to life in a much different way then when I read it as a kid! That Tom was definitely a character to behold!!
But what makes him more endearing is the fact that these "fictional" stories by Mark Twain were really glimpses into the real life and details of Samuel Clemens!
The details of the stories are definitely part of Mark Twain's real life and history. Like the courthouse where his father worked.
And it makes sense too--because what kind of mind could come up with all of these incredible tales of childish shenanigans, without having played some role in them!
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment